Former Celtic and Nottingham Forest defender Kelvin Wilson has been reflecting on his time working under Neil Lennon at Celtic…
Kelvin Wilson reckons that his former boss Neil Lennon should be looking at making a return to the dugout. Speaking to Gambling.com the former Celtic central defender reckons that Lenny is the best man-manager he’s worked with and believes that he should get back into the management game as soon as possible.
Neil Lennon was a great player in his day
“I played with Lenny a little bit before he retired, when he came to Forest. So I knew him a little bit personally as well. Playing with him was good, he was coming towards the end of his career so he didn’t really want to run much. But he was a great player in his day.
“Lenny is a great manager”
Kelvin Wilson continued: “Lenny is a great manager too. I’ve done so many podcasts and interviews, where they always ask ‘who’s the best manager you’ve played under?’ etc. Neil Lennon is the best man-manager that I’ve played under. To me personally, his man-management was brilliant.
“I had issues with personal things back home in Nottingham, and he helped me and let me go back there. When you played well he literally made you feel like you were the best player in the world. It was great playing with Lenny and then obviously I played under Billy Davies at Forest, who would be my all-time best manager I played under.”
On Neil Lennon returning to the dugout Wilson is clearly in favour of that happening and reckons his old Celtic boss still has plenty to offer the game.
“He’s had his ups and downs since he’s left Celtic”
“Yeah, I think so [if Neil Lennon should go back into management]. He’s a great manager and he’s proved himself. Obviously he’s had his ups and downs since he’s left Celtic, with a few clubs that he’s been at, but that’s not going to change him as a manager.
“When you make players happy you get the best out of them. What Lenny offers is great man-management skills, and he’s a good coach as well, let’s not forget that.
“So I think he’ll get back into it. He’ll probably have a pick of a few clubs, and I’m sure he’ll pick the right one for him.”
Looking back at his own time at Celtic Kelvin Wilson has great memories of playing for our club.
“Celtic Park just took my breath away”
“The first time I went to Celtic Park it just took my breath away, you look around and you think, ‘wow’. Going into the changing room as well for the first time, and the calibre of players there was just next level – all international players and stuff. I’m a [Nottingham] Forest fan, but playing for Celtic was a great experience and probably the best times of my career.”
Recalling that night playing against Lionel Messi & Co from that wonderful Barcelona side in the Champions League was surreal and ultimately triumphant as he helped Celtic beat possibly the greatest club side of all time.
“That allows you to play against players such as Lionel Messi”
“It was brilliant. That was one of the reasons why I came to Celtic. Obviously Celtic is a big club, but I came to play in the Champions League and we managed to do that. That allows you to play against players such as Lionel Messi.
“When we got drawn against Barcelona and they were in our group it was a dream come true. You’re going to play at the Camp Nou and play against all these world-class players. So playing against him [Lionel Messi] was just a bit surreal at the start, but then once the whistle goes it’s just another game.
“I think we [the Celtic team] all performed like that and showed that. We probably played against the best club team of all time, but we enjoyed it. We got a result at Celtic Park [winning 2-1]. It was just great times and memories.”
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